In July 1973, Sydney's Gay Liberation group proposed the first national Gay Pride festival for September, a callout that was taken up by groups in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. What resulted was a slew of festivities and arrests, which created momentum for subsequent landmark movements.

Following a week in Sydney filled with activities that included a speak-out, a festival in The Domain, and a public meeting, the final event was to be a demonstration. The Sydney Gay Pride Week demonstration drew around 200 lesbians and gay men, who set out from Sydney Town Hall to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. Only to find the police waiting, determined to stop them.

This footage from Ten Network’s Eyewitness News shows protestors marching through the Sydney CBD, and their subsequent arrests.

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